Biography And Autobiography from Raptis Rare Books

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. First edition of the historian's first Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket and illustration design by Wendell Minor. Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of the thirty-third President of the United States. Truman provides a deeply moving look at… Read more about this item

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990. First edition of the 40th President of the United States' memoir. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by both Ronald and Nancy Reagan on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Robert Anthony, Inc. Rare and desirable signed by both the president and first lady. "Reagan's charm,… Read more about this item

New York: Penguin Press, 2017. First edition of this award-winning biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Octavo, original boards, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Ned and Andrea- Ron Chernow." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket art by Evan Gaffney. Author photograph by Beowulf Sheehan.

London: William Mullan & Son, 1879.

Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Honoribus Press, 2003. First edition of this extraordinary autobiography. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Tex as 23rd Fighter Group commander next to the 'Bullfrog,' illustrated with black-and-white photographs and a map of China 1942-1945. Signed by 'Tex' Hill on a National Museum of Pacific War bookplate adhered to the front free endpaper. Near fine in… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979. First edition of the 38th president of the United States' autobiography. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To John Marshall Hobbs, with gratitude and appreciation for your prayers, your confidence and your support at those times when they were needed most Warmest… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1961. John F. Kennedy's seminal work, "Profiles in Courage," stands as a cornerstone in American political literature, offering profound insights into the complexities of moral leadership and political integrity. Published in 1956, the book delineates the stories of eight United States senators who exhibited extraordinary courage in upholding their principles despite facing considerable… Read more about this item

London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1931. "A document of the first order of importance as the intimate revelation of the life and thought of a man who must be ranked as one of the supremely great personalities not only of his own but of all time... These pages have a simplicity that is almost naive, a frankness that… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1930. First edition of this classic work by Wyckoff who implemented his methods of technical analysis of the financial markets (the study of charts showing movements of stock-prices and other data). Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To my good friend and former associate… Read more about this item

London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1904. Finely bound example of the German scholar of Indiology's influential study on Buddhism based on the Pali texts. Octavo, bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco by the Atelier Bindery for Charles Scribners Sons with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, title page… Read more about this item

London: Oxford University Press, 1966. Finely bound Oxford University Press printing of the author's famous allegory and spiritual autobiography. Octavo, bound in full polished calf by Bayntun with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner… Read more about this item

London: C. Kegan Paul & Co, 1878. First edition of the sequel to 'Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah.' Octavo, original publisher's decorated cloth stamped in black and gilt, rebacked, beveled edges, black endpapers, illustrations in text, folding map of North-Western Arabia, advertisements at rear. In very good condition. This sober tale of Burton's journey through the ruined Midianite cities… Read more about this item

New York: Doubleday, 1996. First edition of Gorbachev's autobiography. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with photographs, Foreward by Martin McCauley. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Mario J. Pulice. Jacket photograph by Eddie Adams. "A timely reminder of what made Gorbachev so revolutionary back in 1985, these memoirs offer a detailed but readable chronicle… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1885. First edition of Elizabeth Custer's memoir. Octavo, original publisher's pictorial brown cloth decorated and stamped in black and gilt with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, gilt embellishments of a rising sun and bugle to the front panel, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of George Armstrong Custer, outline map of portions of Montana… Read more about this item

London: The Bodley Head, 1964. Beginning with cruel early life in vanished London and continuing into the trials and tribulations of a great acting career, this indescribable autobiography tells the life story not only of a world-shakingly exceptional comedian but also of a great and honest human being. Chronicling Chaplin's meeting with powerful leaders and the famous minds of… Read more about this item

New York and London: Macmillan & Co. Limited, 1906. First editions of Winston S. Churchill's impassioned two-volume biography written in defence of his maligned father's posthumous reputation; a bulwark of any Churchill collection. Octavo, 2 volumes bound in three quarters morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe with gilt titles and five raised bands to the spine, top edge gilt, engraved… Read more about this item

New York: Walker and Company, 1994. First edition of this riveting work on the legendary scientist James D. Watson. Octavo, original boards. Boldly signed by James Watson and Francis Crick on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Ron Monteleone. Rare and desirable signed by Watson and Crick. In its drama, Watson's life has… Read more about this item

London: Hutchinson & Co, 1971. First edition of the collection of Frances Stevenson's diaries. Octavo, original navy blue cloth, illustrated with photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the verso of the half title page, "For dear Bob and Wanda with love and every good wish for the future from Frances Lloyd-George - August 1971." Near fine in… Read more about this item

New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1939. Between 1914 and 1958, Cecille B. DeMille made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. His silent films included social… Read more about this item